Scrimmage Two, 8/16

Hey everyone. It sounds like Scrimmage Two went to the offense. That's what CB Jerraud Powers thinks. LB Merrill Johnson said the same thing. I'm OK with declaring a winner.

NOTE: Media wasn't permitted inside the stadium. I have to report on what coach Tommy Tuberville and eight designated players said about the event.

I'm OK with that philosophically, which we have discussed. If I'm a reader, I want numbers. Now you know why numbers aren't here. Thanks for your continued understanding.

Here are some Things You Need To Know:

The offense scored on at least its first two possessions. C Jason Bosley said they scored a touchdown on the first possession and a field goal on the second. ``It was a blur after that," he said.

Defenders said there were a lot of missed tackles today. DC Paul Rhoads counted 26 last week. LB Chris Evans said he's worried there were more than 26 today. ``I would say the two weeks of training camp really showed today. That's not an excuse but you could really see it. We need to get back to being tough mentally and physically," Evans said.

WR Philip Pierre-Louis (aka Frenchy, pictured above) was the offensive star. Players on both sides of the ball said Pierre-Louis was working the defense. Johnson said he missed a tackle against No. 82.Here's what Tuberville said: ``He's not a big target, but the quarterbacks have a lot of confidence in him. There were other guys who made plays. Just standing out there and watching, the guy who made the consistent plays was him (Pierre-Louis.)"

As crudup noted, TB Ben Tate had "about a 60-yard run" (Bosley) and WR Rod Smith scored on what Smith described as a 50-yard pass. He was said to have been working against freshman CB D'Antoine Hood.

Smith said QB Kodi Burns "tagged off" his original route (a comeback) and requested that Smith run a stutter-and-go on the touchdown pass. Smith beat freshman DB D'Antoine Hood for the score.

Tuberville seemed satisfied with the two quarterbacks' play. Not impressed; just satisfied.

DE Jomarcus Savage injured a shoulder in the scrimmage. Tuberville doesn't believe the injury is serious.

RG Bart Eddins, who injured a shoulder during practice this week, is expected to miss only a week. He was examined by Birmingham-based orthopedist James Andrews. No damage was found.

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*****OFF-TOPIC*****I reached what I consider a crescendo of my Project Gotham Racing 4 career last night. I finally gathered 1,000,000 Kudos points and "bought" the Million Kudos gamer picture. Yay me.

8.15.2008

Tuberville previews The Big Scrimmage

Coach Tommy Tuberville recently spoke at length about The Big Scrimmage to be held Saturday. Nobody can watch, of course, but we still can talk about it. We talk about the easter bunny, too.

It'll include "80 to 100 plays" ... not including special-teams work.

It won't include WR Mario Fannin (hamstring), TB Tristan Davis (foot) or Sen'Derrick Marks, whom Tuberville said needs rest. I suspect TB Brad Lester (ankle) could be out of action as well.

TB Ben Tate apparently is fine. He's playing on Saturday. He was working on the side yesterday with those guys listed above (in addition to Big Snacks Berry), but I guess Tate's injury was less significant.

Watching Tate and Berry work some shuttle runs together Thursday afternoon may have been my 2008 highlight so far. Talk about an odd couple.

Tuberville likes DE Jomarcus Savage a lot and thinks he may play this year.

The Top Two Quarterbacks will play the first half. Neil Caudle and Barrett Trotter will duke it out (I think I'm being alliterative) during the second half for those coveted third-team offense duties.

Photo gallery: 8/15

Hey everyone. Practice was closed today, so I have no practice footage to share.

I have some interviews I'm planning to post later today. I'm also going to build what I think is the current depth chart. That's later today or tomorrow.

For now, ingest some photos from yesterday's workout.

The offensive line was paired with quarterbacks during this drill for the first time Thursday. I'd say they're starting to really hone stuff now.

Here's Jomarcus Savage being ostentatious with a blocking dummy. He's had a pretty good camp. I think he's going to play this fall ... mainly because Raven Gray and AJ Greene aren't reliable just yet.

Here's AJ Greene working through a swim-move drill "against" Cam Henderson, who wasn't supposed to put up much of a fight.

Here's Cam Henderson going through the same drill a few minutes later.

Here's former Prattville star Justin Albert working on the side during Thursday's practice. He underwent knee surgery in December and still is working his way back. I think he'll have a chance to do something in the coming years ... provided he sticks it out.

8.14.2008

Practice report, 8/14 (video included)

Hey everyone. Let's get to bidness.

Auburn's practice was pretty short today; 90 minutes or so. They were in shorts and shoulder pads. There was no contact. They worked on field goals and position-specific drills. The offense ran their offense at a frenetic pace at the end of practice. Defenders were on the next field over. It was just Tony Franklin relaying signals and the team running 'em quickly. It's called "NASCAR" in Franklin lingo.

Coach Tommy Tuberville said he still hasn't received a full academic report from the final summer semester. ``What happens is, a lot of these professors get their grades done and they don't send them all in. You know, they go on vacation or whatever, because it's between (semesters) and they don't get posted. We're not allowed to call or do anything like that. We're at the mercy of information coming to us as it comes."

Practices will be closed to fans and media from here on out. ``We'll hopefully have a little bit of an advantage going into the season with two new coordinators and people not knowing what we're doing. We've been pretty basic to this point."

DT Tez Doolittle was moving better than I've seen him this fall.

DE Raven Gray was not moving well.

Players are really happy to be leaving the intramural fields for the official football fields tomorrow. DT Sen'Derrick Marks said he feels like an old man every time he practices on the concrete-like surface on the intramural fields. ``Every day, you get shin splits or you leave with tendinitis. It's either or. The groud is so hard."

Prelude to Practice Fourteen (8/14)

Hey everyone. Practice allegedly begins at 4:15 p.m. I'm planning to be there. Expect a practice video around 5:15 and a full practice briefing, complete with the HABOTN insight you crave, around 8 o'clock.

Tuberville said they're not going to do much hitting today. The Big Scrimmage is two days away. So you boxing fans ... don't expect to read about more carnage. You all are savages.

Bonus video: 8/13 interviews

Hey everyone. I have another video to satiate your desire for more Auburn. Get ready to hear from Greg Knox talking about Chris Slaughter, Tray Blackmon on "representing Auburn" and Don Dunn discussing Tez Doolittle.

I'm still tweaking the graphics. If you have an opinion, please do share.

Practice Twelve (8/13)

Hey everyone. On this, a second rainy day in Auburn, I'm ready to get to business.

Here is What You Need to Know:

Assistant coach Greg Knox said James Swinton has had "the best camp" among all the wideouts. Maybe he will be Big Game James after all ...

Swinton said he considered quitting a few years ago after falling to the bottom of the depth chart. Why did he stick it out? He had the skills. ``If I knew I didn't have the talent, I probably wouldn't have kept going. I'm not going to lie to you: I wouldn't have kept going."

Knox also sounded pretty high on WR Chris Slaughter, saying "the light has come on" for the sophomore.

Practice video: 8/13

The are practicing on the official practice fields for the first time this season. Perpetual rains have turned the intramural fields into a marsh for now. The media was allowed to shoot from long range only.

Practice is sorta open. We can watch from a long way away. I'm not out there. I can't see that far without my camera.

8.12.2008

Practice video: 8/12

No practice footage today because they changed the schedule and didn't tell us until it was ... almost time for practice. Please accept some interview highlights from CTT, CTF and WR Rod Smith instead.

Practice Eleven (8/12)

Hey everyone. Let's get to business.

Here's what You Need To Know:

A pretty serious fight broke out today during the pass-rush drill. The initial participants were RT Ryan Pugh and DE Antonio Coleman. They started going at it. Then several other players, most notably LT Lee Ziemba, piled on. The fracas ended with Coleman et al. crashing into a water-cooler. Coach Tommy Tuberville, in a rare show of anger at practice, raced over to the scene and began yelling at players to stop.

Coleman stayed down for a few minutes. He later participated in full-contact drills, so I'm guessing he's fine. I'll be writing about this in Wednesday's editions.

The offensive line didn't have a good day in pass rush. Freshman DE Jomarcus Savage began the drill by bull rushing Ziemba into the quarterback. Pugh, LG Tyronne Green and OT Mike Berry were at least adequate. Hugh Nall was highly dissatisfied.

C Jason Bosley was back today. He didn't participate in the pass-rush drill, but he was out there for all of the 11-on-11 stuff.

Practice was supposed to start at 3 p.m. Bosley said he was in treatment at 7:30 a.m. when a trainer casually mentioned that practice had been shifted to the morning. Bosley said that mental adjustment provides a major obstacle for many younger players ... and may help explain some of the sluggish play.

DE Michael Goggans was forceful during the 11-on-11s. He wasn't affected by the schedule change.

(Click for more detail)

This is Pugh and Coleman seconds before the fight began. Notice that Coleman's right hand is up near Pugh's throat. Pugh told Hugh Nall that he started the fight because Coleman kept hitting him in the throat.

Here's Ziemba working against A.J. Greene today.

Here's Ziemba working against Mike Goggans on Monday. Notice Ziemba's posture. Can you guess who won this battle?

Practice Ten, 8/11

Hey everyone. It's business time. No, not that business time.

Here's what You Need To Know:

UPDATED: S Marcus Jemison had surgery today in Birmingham to repair a broken leg. It was not his ankle as first reported. I still don't understand how this injury fits into the fact that Jemison was brawling with H-back John Douglas moments before. I didn't see the play.

There were some nice plays by receivers today. TE Tommy Trott made a one-handed grab during 7on-7s. WR Rod Smith made an outstanding one-handed play for a touchdown from QB Kodi Burns. He dived for a ball that seemed to deep, deflected the ball up and made the grab as he was falling down.

LB Tray Blackmon had an interception. CB Neiko Thorpe made a pick in 7-on-7s.

Picture-perfect blocking from LT Lee Ziemba and WR Terrell Zachery cleared out a screen pass to WR Chris Slaughter for a touchdown.

DE Hot Carter was his usual dominating self during the pass-rush drill.

Hugh Nall seemed unhappier than usual with his linemen during the 11-on-11 drill.

C Jason Bosley worked on an exercise bike and jogged for a bit, but didn't participate in practice.

8.10.2008

Practice Nine, 8/10

Hey everyone. Let's get to business.

Here is What You Need To Know:

As a poster mentioned yesterday here on the HABOTN, LB Tray Blackmon did not attend the Saturday scrimmage. He said he was receiving treatment in the Athletic Complex for "nicks and bruises," but said he was fine. He practiced today.

C/RT Ryan Pugh missed practice after suffering an eye injury during the scrimmage. Recall that starting C Jason Bosley has been out six days with a strained lower back.

LG Tyronne Green worked at center today. He was ... uncomfortable.

LT Lee Ziemba has a nasty streak. He pulled DE Hot Carter's helmet off during an 11-on-11 drill and threw it at him. Carter was preparing for a counter-attack when players and trainers intervened.

S Zac Etheridge made some nice pass break-ups today -- one in 1-on-1s and another during the 11-on-11 drill.

DT Zach Clayton had a nice performance during the pass-rush drill today. He used a quick swim move to move past RG Byron Isom (who is playing well) ... then worked some lower-tier OLs later.

LB Craig Stevens made some exceptional plays during 11-on-11s. He undermined a right-side screen by hitting WR Mario Fannin an instant after he caught the ball. Had there been live hitting, Fannin would have been harmed. Stevens pulled the same stunt on the other side one play later. It was Fannin again.

CB Harry Adams was injured during 1-on-1s. Coach Tommy Tuberville said Adams simply had the wind knocked out of him. I didn't see the play. I don't have more to offer there.

A few days after I praised him, DT Derrick Lykes had a difficult day in pass-rush. He wasn't active and tried to bull rush blockers who saw it coming. Things didn't come together for him.

Practice resumes Monday with a two-a-day situation. The morning session begins at 8:30 a.m. The afternoon session begins at 5:45.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: I probably will be skipping the morning practice. I have to pick and choose sometimes. I'm planning to attend the evening session.